Table



May 2, 1933. F R CHESTER 1,907,242

TABLE Filed June 11. 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

a MQM,

ATTORNEYS.

y 1933. F. R. CHESTER 1,907,242

TABLE Filed June 11, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 F Fi 2.

WIIIIIIflI/IIIIIIII/I/l/i INVENTOR. M m,

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May 1933. F. R. CHESTER 1,907,242

TABLE I Filed June 11. '1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 5.

INVENTOR. Jlwrv M am,

ATTORNEYS.

y 2, 1933. F. R. CHESTER 1,907,242

TABLE Filed June 11, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR.

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ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 2, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT: OF'FIGE.

FRANK' R. CHESTER, OF NEW'YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T CHESTERFIELD CONTROLCOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A GORPORATIONOF DELAWARE TABLE Applicationfiled J-une 1:1, 1930. Serial -No..460,315

This invention relates to an article of furniture, and specifically, asupport such as a table, and aims to provide a functionally andstructurally improved article of this naturewhich, when extended, willprovide an extremely rigid support and which, when collapsed, willoccupy a. minimum amount of space. It is an object of the invention to.furnish a support, and particularly a table, which will embodyrelatively few' parts, each individually simple and rugged inconstruction, these parts being capable of ready manipulation, by arelatively inexperienced person, to permit of the provision of a smallorextended table, as maybe desired, and in which, moreover, this articlewill embody, in so far as feasible, an; extremely artistic and pleasingappearance-in its several conditions.

A further object of the invention. is that of furnishing an article ofthis nature which may beset upor reduced to occupy a mini.- mum amountof space with the least possible effort, and in which, in any of itsconditions,

i a perfect deck surface will be presented so that while the table maybe employed to advantage in any number of different associations, itwill always present a surface capable of use, for'exa-mple, inconnection with table tennis and ping pong. Moreover, the structure willbe so rigid as to be capable of withstanding the severe strains: imposedon its deck and associated parts without there being anydanger of theseveral table units becoming relatively displaced.

WVith these, and further, objects in min-d, reference is bad to theattached sheets of drawings illustrating one practical embodiment of theinvention, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the table partially set up; i

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the main portion of the table; 7

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged sectional views taken along the lines 3-3 and4-4 in the direction of the arrows indicated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the disposition of one ofthe supporting legs, when. in extended condition and.

Fig. 7 is a sectional side view of one. of the deck panels.

In the'seviews, the numeral 10 indicates. a

example, by bolts 15.. These arms may each be formed of metal and areconveniently U- shaped in cross-section, it being noted that adjacenttheir inner ends a plate, or cooperating strip portion, 16 isconveniently furnished for the purpose of reinforcingthem adjacent thepoint of contact of the bolt. Also, bearing plates 17 may be disposed inassociation. with the inner facesofthepanels with a view to providing arigid, unitary structure which will be free, to amaximum extent, fromany tendency of the parts to bind. a

In the embodiment illustrated, the arms 14 support, adjacent their outerends, legs 18. These may be of any desired construction, but preferably,are of such area. that they may be accommodated within the panelsexisting along the under faces of the arms. A convenient formofattaching these legs to: the arms is, according to the presentinvention, by means of transversely extending bolts 19, it being notedthat the: upper ends of the legs are carried, if desired, blocks 20,.the upper faces of which are beveled, as has been indicated at 21, andthat the pivot points 19 are so-located with reference to the sideportions of the arms 14 that the inner face 21 will clear the inner faceof the base portions of these arms.

1 The purpose of this construction is to be found in that a wedgestructure is presented by preferably utilizing a spring strip 22'bentig. 6 shows this part in housedcondition,

upon itself to furnish a resilient portion lyingin line with the innerface 21 of the block, when the leg is in vertical position. Accordingly,with the parts in this position, it will be appreciated that the stripwill act to prevent their displacement. The wedge unit thus furnished isrendered retractable by means of an actuating portion 23 extendingconveniently beyond the arm with which the strip is associated, and thisstrip is normally projected by means of a spring 24, it being noted thata stop pin 25 is utilized, if desired, to prevent any possibility of thestrip, under the influence of the spring, being projected to too greatan extent. Moreover, the wedge structure furnished by the strip isadjustable to meet variations in manufacture and also to compensate forwear, as, for example, by employing a bolt or set screw 26 which passesthrough the outer leg of the strip and bears against the inner face ofits body. g V

As a resultof this construction it will be readily appreciated that,with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 6, the contact between theside face of the block and the outer arm of the strip will be such thatthe leg 18 will remain in housed condition within the body of the arm.However, by simply retracting the wedge unit by means of the actuatingportion 23, the leg will automatically, under the influence of gravity,swing downwardly until it occupies the position shown in Fig. 5. Ofcourse, the operator might manually swing the leg, if he so desires, butin any event, upon nowreleasing the actuating portion 23, the wedgestructure furnished will yieldingly bear-against the upper end of theleg to prevent any movement ofthe same around its pivot 19. The purposeof'preferably having the upper edges of the block extend at an anglewill now be obvious, in that the under surface of the wedge unitpreferably extends at such an angle, and thus a proper co-operation ofthe parts will be assured.

It-will, moreover, be observed that the upper faces of the arms 14 mayeach be providedwith openings 26. Panels 27 may be'disposed in line withthe panel. 12 and upon the arms 14, and further panels, up to anydesired numberand according to the length of the arms-may, in turn, bearranged beyond the panels 27. Of course. if merely a small table isdesired, the latter panels might provide the end portions of the table,with consequent reduction in the length of the arms 14. However,conceding that a table exactly of the type shown is to be assembled,panels 28 are disposed beyond the panels 27 and, as shown in Fig. 7,these panels are each preferably formed with a bore within which ascrew-threaded shaft 29 is disposed. A traveler 30 is bound within arecess of the panel 28 and upon the shaft, and

is formed with a hook-shaped extension 31 of sufficient depth to passthrough the opening 26 of the arm. It will be observed that the end ofthe shaft is square, as has been indicated at 32, so as to mount asuitable key or crank, and accordingly, with the parts disposed in thismanner, the shaft may be turned in order to draw the traveler along itsbody and correspondingly shift the panel 28 toward the panel 27 Thislatter panel will thus be pressed against the panel 12, and undersuitable pressure, all of these panels may be brought to aconditionwhere their upper faces form one continuous surface, with their edgeortions practically invisibly merged in the eck.

In so far as structural details are concerned, it will, of course, beunderstood that much latitude may be had. It is preferred, according tothe present invention, to have the panels embodying a tongue and grooveconstruction, as has been indicated at 33. Moreover, with reference tothe blocks 20, these may conveniently include a jacketing portionenclosing the upper ends of the legs 18, and within which a block 3 1isdisposed, this block firmly engaging the threads of a member 35 whichhas its upper end rotatively encircling the bolt 19, furnishing thepivot for the leg. M

The set-screw 26 may be provided with a locking nut 36, and a brace 37may be provided below the panel, or plate, 13 for the purpose ofreinforcing the center part of the table. Finally, according to thisinvention, strips or apron portions 38 may close the space between thepanels 12 and 13, and they may be extended below the latter to concealthe housed structure, while strips 39 are pivotally mounted between theaprons 38 thus to provide a completely housed structure which, however,is instantly available upon the strips 39 being swung downwardly, asshown in Fig. 3, movement beyond a predetermined point in thisconnection being prevented by 7 stops 40.

Reviewing briefly the operation of the structure, it will be understoodthat, with the parts completely housed, an extremely attractive articleis-presented which may be.

utilized for any desired purpose and will appear, for example, as arelatively small, or walltype, table. The operator, by simply swingingthe strips 39 down, exposes the two pairs ofarms 14, and the latter maybe swung outwardly around their pivotal bolts 15 to extend in the mannershown in Fig. 1. Thereupon, by simply manipulating the actuatingportions 23, the legs 18 may be brought to proper supporting condition,and now the I 125 panels 27 and-28 may be placed in position, whereupon,by tightening, these panels, a completeunitary structure will befurnished which will withstand the heaviest usage withits parts. Bysimply reversing the foregoing out in any way disturbing therelationship of procedure, the parts may again be neatly and compactlyhoused and, to all intents and purposes, an ordinary piece of furniturewill be presented.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, among others, theseveral objects of the invention as specifically afore referred to areachieved. It will, moreover, be understood that numerous changes inconstruction, and rearrangements of the parts, might be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by theclaims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A table including a panel, means for supporting the same, an armpivotally associated with said panel, said arm being substantiallyU-shaped in cross-section and with its legs extending downwardly, and atable leg pivotally supported between the legs of said arm.

2. A table including a panel, means for supporting the same, armsmovable outwardly from said table, legs pivotally carried by said armsand adapted to be swung in substantially vertical planes, and means forlocking such legs against movements with respect to said arms, saidmeans comprising a wedge structure sliding contact with said legsadjacent their upper ends.

3. A table including a panel, a plate spaced from the same, supportingmeans for said panel and plate, arms disposed between said panels andplates, means cooperating with the inner ends ofsaid arms pivotally tosupport the same, whereby the latter may be swung outwardly in asubstantially horizontal plane and beyond said panel, and means fornormally closing the space between the edges of said plate and panel toprovide a housing structure for said arms.

4. A table including a panel, a plate spaced from the same, supportingmeans for said panel and plate, arms disposed between said panels andplates, means cooperating with the inner ends of said arms pivotally tosupport the same, whereby the latter may be swung outwardly in asubstantially horizontal plane and beyond said panel, strips pivotallysupported by said table, and said strips being disposed beyond the outeredges of said plate, whereby they may close the space between said plateand panel.

5. A table including a supporting structure, arms extendible therefromand U- shaped in cross-section, legs normally housed within said armsand extending between the sides thereof, and means for pivotallysupporting the upper ends of the legs in such position.

6. A table including a supporting structure, arms extendible therefromand U- shaped in cross-section, legs normally housed within said armsand extending between the sides thereof, and quick, releasable means fornormally locking the legs in such position.

7. A table including a supporting structure, arms extendible therefromand 'U- shaped in cross-section, legs normally housed within said armsand extending between the sides thereof, and spring-projected wedgingmeans for normally bearing against said legs to prevent movement thereofwith respect to said arms.

8. A table including a supporting structure, arms extendible therefromand U- shaped in cross-section, legs normally housed within said armsand extending between the sides thereof, said legs being swingable toextend at substantially right angles to the arms with which they areassociated, and means for locking said legs into such latter position.

9. A table including a supporting structure, arms extendible therefromand U shaped in cross-section, legs normally housed within said arms andextending between the sides thereof, said legs being swingable to extendat substantially right angles to the arms with which they areassociated, and a single means for each of said legs and cooperatingtherewith to lock the same against movement in both housed and extendedconditions.

10. A table including a supporting structure, arms extendible therefromand U- shaped in cross-section, legs normally housed within said armsand extending between the sides thereof, said legs being swingable toextend at substantially right angles to the arms with which they areassociated, and spring strips disposed between the base portions of saidarms and the inner ends of said legs and wedging against the latternormally to prevent movement thereof with respect to said arms.

11. A table'including a panel, supportin means therefor, an armextendible beyond said panel and formed with an opening, a second paneltobe disposed upon said arm, and means cooperating With said arm openingand said second panel for forcing the latter along said arm and intointimate contact with said first named panel.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

FRANK R. CHESTER.

